Thoughts...

BEWARE! Below are the mind-ramblings of a sleep-deprived, often-incoherent mother:

1.KEZI: Sleep...how I miss you. So terribly. Kezi went from being a solid sleeper to waking up 3-4+ times a night the past few weeks. And what does that equal? A tired, ornery, non-motivated, sad, sad mommy and wife. Not fun. I've tried to put on my detective hat here. Teething? Growth pains? Gas pains? I've tried Tylenol, schedule changes, crying-it-out, etc. Nothing seems to make a difference. I'm hoping it's just a phase (I found in my journal that Ireland did the same thing at 3 months). Anyone that has suggestions, though, please send them on. I'm about ready to try anything.

2.IRELAND: I keep wondering when to start potty training her. She'll be 3 in July. She keeps wanting to go - keeps taking her diaper off and sitting on the potty. Sometimes she goes, sometimes not. My reluctance comes from my first experience with potty training. McKinley kept regressing and it ended up being this big power-struggle thing. I hated it. Maybe Ireland will be a cinch. Who knows? I don't want to miss what might be a window, but if she's like McKinley I have neither the mental nor emotional strength to go through that right now.
3.McKINLEY: My sister thinks that McKinley will be super-bored in school if we put her through another year of preschool (she barely misses the deadline - Sept 9). McKinley knows pretty much all her letters, sounds, and can read small words with a little help. She was doing some of her cousin's homework with him & even helped him with some of it. I know she's not a genius or anything, but most of her friends are going to Kindergarten this year. I have no idea what kind of effort it would take to try & get her in this year. Any help from anyone who has gone through this would be helpful!

4. No updates on Jason's job search. He's had quite a few interviews & even though he feels really good about them, there's just so many applicants, it's hard to compete. It's been a full year now with no income. I can't say it doesn't weigh us down sometimes - it's always there in the background. The stress never completely goes away. We are hopeful, though, and cannot deny the miracles we've seen as we've gone through this. An entire year with no help from the government? I'd definitely call that a miracle - I didn't think our savings would last us 6 months, let alone a year. Definitely a miracle. And we definitely will take this trial over so many that we have seen others go through. We have much to be thankful for...

5. I've read a couple good books lately - The Giver and The Secret Journal of Brett Colton. I think I read The Giver in middle school or something. I remember it being a good book. And it definitely gave me something to think about - and things to feel blessed about. The Secret Journal of Brett Colton was just a great book with a creative story line. It was an easy read. For more in-depth reviews, become my goodreads.com friend! I'd love to see what you're reading!

January Slideshow & Summary...

Here's the goods for January...



McKINLEY:
-Mom got up to bear her testimony during fast & testimony meeting and got pretty emotional. The next person got up & also cried. Then the next person didn’t cry & McKinley kept asking “Mom – why isn’t she crying??”
-Kezia was crying in her room & we were going to let her cry for a few minutes. McKinley got her music box, put it outside of Kezia’s room and said “here you go Kezia. This will make you happy.” -Just before church McKinley said “Mom, I want to be a boy.” Mom asked why. McKinley replied “So I can do the bread!” (sacrament)
-McKinley earned enough points this month (6) to get a sleepover with a cousin, so she got to have 3 nights of sleeping over with Michael! They had a great time watching movies, playing, going to the birthday party, and running away from the “toddlers.”
-We were talking one night about being smart. McKinley asked if she was smarter than mom & dad. Mom said “Well…probably not until you’re about 9 or so.”
-We had some boxes lying around & McKinley had fun cutting them, ripping them, taping them, and trying to made a spaceship like the one in the Moondogs book.
-McKinley’s bike from Christmas: She started out like a speed racer – doing great – making great turns, going fast. She had a couple small falls. Nothing big. But then she started getting scared of the bike & would never ride it. S l o w l y with mom holding the handle she has gotten less scared, but she still goes VERY slow and stops a lot to make sure she won’t crash.
-McKinley has enjoyed playing “go fish” and is getting pretty good at it!
-One morning McKinley said “Mom I am going to put on my lipstick” – except she said lipstick in a whisper. She said it again. Mom asked why she kept whispering “lipstick.” Mc – “I don’t want Ireland to hear!”
-After a morning playdate with Cambria Cox, McKinley asked if she could play with Lizzy. Mom said that she’d already played with Cambria. McKinley said “But I haven’t had enough fun today!”
-McKinley has been doing this thing where if she is supposed to be doing something (like cleaning her room or going into time-out or going to bed) she will run up to us. We’ll get upset & tell her to do what she’s supposed to be doing & she’ll say “But I want to give you a hug!”
-Somehow a small moth had gotten in and was flying around our dinner table. McKinley said “Well, I hope he’s not looking at my mom with his beady eyes!”
-While mommy & daddy went skiing, Grandpa took McKinley on a special date to The Princess & the Frog!

IRELAND:
-Ireland found a glue stick and Grandma Potts’ and apparently thought it was lipstick.
-McKinley fell on her bike & dad came over to comfort her. Ireland then pretended to fall down & ran over to her dad to have his attention, too.
-Ireland wanted to sleep in McKinley’s bed one night. Mom wasn’t so sure about that, but Ireland said “Be Patient!” (hmmm – wonder where she hears that from?)
-We asked Ireland to get McKinley a drink of water, so she got a cup, filled it halfway with water, drank half of it on her way over to McKinley, handed it to her and said “you’re welcome!”
-Ireland was sick for a week or so and had such a hard time swallowing. Her throat hurt so bad that she cried every time she swallowed something. We took her in, but it wasn’t strep & finally went away after a couple more days.
-Ireland prays for dad to find a job at every prayer, but apparently she thinks everyone needs a job and prays “please help McKinley to find a job, and bless Kezia to find a job..”
-Ireland had Dora shoes that mom was helping her to put on. Mom pointed to Boots & said “look – it’s Boots!” Ireland looked at mom & said “No mom! They’re not boots – they’re shoes!” – we went back & forth with that for a little while.
-Ireland goes through 4 or 5 cups a day – she doesn’t like using the same one twice and she still likes to make little water experiments.
-For some reason, Ireland says Ok-kay.
-One day after mom took her bowl to the dishwasher, Ireland said “I’m so proud of you!”
-Lately if Ireland wants help and mom or dad are doing something like reading or on the laptop, she will look at us straight in the eye & say “Put it down! I need help!”

KEZIA:
-Ireland has grown SO much in the past month! She is using her hands a lot more and is a pro and using her jungle gym and making the music go.
-Ireland has been smiling and laughing – so cute!
-Kezia still LOVES ceiling fans and will sit and just watch them for quite a while.
-Our other 2 were never this attentive at such a young age, but Kezia will sit and REALLY watch Signing Time or Baby Einstein.
-Kezia is getting much stronger in her neck strength!
-She has regressed in her sleeping patterns and we suspect she’s starting to teethe since she’s drooling a lot now as well. We hope she gets in a better sleep pattern soon! Right now she’s up 3-4 times a night.
-Kezia was also sick for a bit this month and had lots of congestion and coughing.
-She’s had quite a explosive poopies and we’ve been going through multiple outfits a day.
-At the end of the month, we tried out the exersaucer & she really did great! She loves it!

Once Upon a Time...

...there lived a little girl who loved to ski. Her journal pages had skiers at the bottom of every page, her favorite Christmas was the one where she received a new pair of skis and boots, and she eagerly anticipated the days that her family would pile in their van with all their snow gear and hit the slopes for the day. That little girl soon grew up, got married to a wonderful man, and had three little girls of her own. She still loved to ski (or snowboard), but the lack of time and funds prevented her from doing so... until one day her fairy godmother (ok - her mom & dad) surprised her with ski tickets for her and her sweetheart! Not only that, but she offered to watch her 3 daughters for the entire day as well. What a dream come true!

So - here's some pics & vid from our day at Brighton yesterday. Jason skied and I snowboarded. It SERIOUSLY has been about 7 years since I last was up on the slopes. Criminal, I know - especially since we lived in Park City for 3 years. It was SO much fun! What a perfect day to be up there - out of the smog - out of the daily grind. It was beautiful. There's something about the quietness of the ski lift, the sparkling snow, the clear, crisp air, and the thrill of the wind in your face that makes you want to yell "WAHOOOO!" - and I couldn't restrain myself from doing so a couple times :) We really never had to wait for a lift, but we did get to meet some people out of state & we even saw an adorable white ferret scurry across the snow. It was so cute.

I remember my dad when I was younger saying at the end of the day how his legs were getting tired and sore. I remember thinking "What an old guy. I have NO idea what you're talking about. I can't comprehend it - I could go all day!" Yesterday, I not only understood what he was talking about, but I LIVED it. I am majorly sore. But it was so majorly worth it! Thanks again mom & dad for the tickets, for watching the girls (my dad even took McKinley to see The Princess & the Frog), and for just being you. We love you!



Here's the video. We debated about unveiling it until we had sent it to the appropriate ski companies to be sponsored, but, well, we decided to let you guys see it first. Don't you feel so privileged? ;)

Hair Scare Dare

Ok Allison, this one's for you!
The dare is to post one of the worst hair 'dos you've ever had. Here's a couple pics for your *cough, cough* enjoyment:

I cringe whenever I look at these photos. Of course, I had to have the worst hair in the universe during the most important years of my life so far - end of Junior High to my Senior year in HS. It all started with diving during my Freshman year. I wanted to dive so I could get my letter, which I did - the sacrifice for that, however, was my hair. I don't think you can really even appreciate it from the first picture, but my beautiful blond hair had darkened & now was a dirty-blond, gross-shiny, chlorine-filled mess. Yuck. It really had green tints to it if you looked close enough.
So - what's a girl to do - cut it all off? Of course not! Instead I chose to start bleaching. Chlorine + tons of bleach + tons of sun (from lifeguarding during HS years) = DAMAGED hair! You can't tell me the 2nd picture doesn't look like I'm wearing some cheap wig. Ug. My hair was so damaged, I had to put leave-in conditioner in it just to brush through it.
So there you have it. The dare is to post the worst hair pics you have - and PLEASE don't tell me I'm the only one!!

Bumper Stickers and Books

Ahhh, here's one of those posts -you know - the "fill-in" kind when you don't have a lot else to say.

BUMPER STICKERS
Some people have bumper stickers that say "my kid is smarter than yours" or "my kid plays clarinet better than yours." Well, while my kids are certainly smart and beautiful, they are also unique, so I think my children would have bumper stickers that go something like this:

Ireland's bumper sticker: MY KID IS MESSIER THAN YOUR KID!

Honestly, this girl CONSTANTLY amazes me at how she can take almost anything and make a huge, massive, disastrous mess out of it. We keep trying to help her - and I keep thinking as she gets older she'll figure out how to be a bit cleaner, but not yet. Good thing she's so dang cute!


(Sorry about the video. Just turn your head)

McKinley's bumper sticker: MY KID DAWDLES MORE THAN YOUR KID!

This girl honestly could win an award at taking the most time for any one activity. I love her to death - and at the same time she drives me crazy. Every meal she is the last one at the table, slowly eating her food. I KNOW I should be better about just letting her take her time - especially when it comes to food - but sometimes you got places to be! Also - her morning things, which should take about a 1/2 hour when done continuously, end up taking an hour or two. If she was sent to me for any one reason, it would be patience!

Kezia's bumper sticker: MY KID LOVES CEILING FANS MORE THAN YOUR KID!

Ok - I realize that most infants love to look at ceiling fans - all my girls have, but SERIOUSLY, Kezia is in LOVE with them. This video just doesn't do it justice. She will laugh, talk to, and just generally smile like crazy as she watches that fan go round and round. Honestly, she would be happy as a lark if we just sat by the switch and turned it on & off all day long.

BOOKS

For me, one of the biggest perks of being a mom is that I get to read books to my kids. It is very hard for me to say no when they run up to me with a book and beg me to read it to them. The library is one of our very favorite places to go and we go through our fair share of books (and fines to match). Some books are blah, some of them are so-so, some are pretty good, and some are just amazing! The rhymes and story lines they come up with simply amaze me at times and I think I am just as entertained as my children. Here are a few of our favorites that we have checked out multiple times:

-Baa-Choo! By Sarah Weeks, Jane Manning

-Mary Had a Little Lamp By Jack Lechner (we just got this one and I had to renew it - so cute!)

-Knuffle Bunny & Knuffle Bunny Too By Mo Willems (we love Mo Willems. These books are just as fun for the parents to read)

-Moondogs, Daniel Kirk

-Blue Hat, Green Hat by Sandra Boynton (we're big Sandra Boynton fans and my girls LOVE to say OOPS!)

Progress not Perfection

New Years Resolutions time! Last year, I made a blog specifically for New Years Resolutions - to track, to have support, and accountability for goals. It was fun to support each other in our goals and see the progress we made.
I made another blog for that same purpose, but this year we are calling it "Progress Not Perfection." I don't know if you are like me and get trapped in the all-or-nothing mentality. This is why I stopped dieting. If I ate so much as one cookie, I thought it was all for naught and ended up downing the whole box. I had somewhat of the same mentality with my goals - if I didn't exercise for one day, I would just throw in the towel (at least for a while) - and get discouraged - till I found the willpower & motivation to start again.
Well, my first New Years Resolution is to stop beating myself up if I am not perfect in my goals! I'm still going to set them. I'm still going to work at them. What I'm NOT going to do is expect to be able to do ALL of them ALL the time & never mess up. I will mess up. I will have days that I don't exercise. I will have days that I don't wake up before the kids do to get my personal study in. I will have days that I don't get all the water or fruit or vegetables that I should. But the goal is PROGRESS. Doing the best I can given the circumstances. But not giving up.
Anyway, so that - in a nutshell - is what I'm all about this year with my goals. The site is http://www.nygoals.blogspot.com/. Anyone who wants to contribute is welcome! Just leave a comment w/ your e-mail - and if you're scared to do it for fear that you will fail, don't be. We are all going to mess up.
“It is not a disgrace to fail…one must analyze each failure and find its cause…he must learn how to fail intelligently. Failing is one of the greatest arts in the world. One fails toward success.”

~ Unknown quotes from Whoever Makes the Most Mistakes Wins: The Paradox of Innovation

December Slideshow & Newsletter

McKINLEY:
-McKinley was pushing a stroller with a doll in it – and by her, pushing the other stroller with a different doll, was Ireland. McKinley was explaining to her “Ireland, these are our babies. I’m an aunt to your baby. Not a bug – a HUMAN aunt!”
-McKinley was singing “We miss you a Merry Christmas, we miss you a Merry Christmas…”
-One day McKinley asked “Why can’t we call Jesus?” (mom said we could pray) McKinley said “But why doesn’t He have a phone?”
-Mom told McKinley if she got ready fast, dad would take them sledding. McKinley got all excited, ran out of the room & yelled “Ireland!! We’re going on a sleigh ride!”
-Mom was driving McKinley to preschool one day & McKinley said, “I saw a cow!...no, wait –it was a yak!”
-On the way back from preschool mom told McKinley that she loved her. McKinley said “Why do you say I love you all day?” Mom said “so you won’t forget!” McKinley said “Mom. I never forget.”
-At This is the Place Heritage Park, we saw live reindeer. On our way out, McKinley said “But mom, where was the one with the red nose?”
-On the drive home, McKinley saw a deer sign. She said “Watch out for reindeer dad!”
-1 hour after we put the girls to bed, we heard singing. McKinley would sing “You better watch out, you better not cry!” and then both girls on the chorus SCREAMING “SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN!”
-McKinley is big into jokes nowdays. She says “Why did the chicken cross the road?” And usually the answer goes something like “because he wanted to see his friends!!”
-McKinley was saying the prayer when some bodily sounds were heard. She stopped & said “Wow! I tooted and sneezed at the same time!!”
-McKinley likes to explain to Kezia how the world works. One day she was sitting by Kezia & saying “Kezia…Santa is nice! He gives us presents because of Jesus!”
-One day we had this lunchtime conversation: Mc-“I want to be an elf!” Mom-“Why?” Mc-“Because I like to work!” Mom- “Really? Well, you can help me work!” Mc –“Ok, well, maybe just a play elf.”
-McKinley asked one day “Mom – do people in heaven have TVs?”

IRELAND:
-One day mom found Ireland affectionately giving her baby doll Kezia’s used nose sucker for a bottle.
-Ireland plays her own game of “I spy” whenever we’re in the car. We’re constantly hearing “I see the sky! I see a plane! I see a car!” or “Daddy…watch out for deer!”
-For some reason, Ireland thinks everything starts with the letter P. She will try to sound it out & go “P-P-P chair!”
-After Christmas, we asked Ireland what her favorite part was. She answered “Chocolate!” We laughed & asked her what her favorite gift was. She said “Chocolate!” Hmmm – must be related to her parents.
-Lately when people ask how old Ireland is, she holds up 4 fingers & says “four!”
-We’ve had a lot of problems with Ireland biting lately. She bit McKinley 3 times & Kezia once.
-Ireland has been drawing a lot lately (she’s pretty good – and a lefty). She likes to draw lots of pictures of her daddy and spiders.
-For some reason Ireland has been wearing socks on her hands a lot.

KEZIA:
-We love our little Kezi-boo. She smiles all the time now & mostly does this cough-laugh thing, although we have heard her full-on giggle, too.
-Kezia is a pretty good sleeper – she usually goes 6-8 hrs, although one night she slept for a full 9 hours!
-Her 2 month check-up went well. Dr. Daynes says she looks great – about 75th percentile in height, 50th percentile in weight, and 80th percentile on her head. She had to get 2 shots, poor thing.
-Kezia was sleeping in her vibrator chair for about 2 months, but she was just getting too big. She’s been sleeping well in her crib now.
-Her sisters still love her to death & want to hold & talk to & lay by her all the time.
-Kezia was such a good girl on her blessing day. She slept a lot and was so good with everyone holding her.